Cigarette tray dumping device



g- 5, 1952 D. w. MOLINS EIYAL 1 2,605,909

CIGARETTE TRAY DUMPING DEVICE Filed April 25. 1949 7 Sheets-Sheet l QAug. 5, 1952 D. W. MOLINS ETAL CIGARETTE TRAY DUMPING DEVICE 7Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 25. 1949 Aug. 5, 1952 D. w. MOLINS El'AL2,605,909

CIGARETTE TRVIAY DUMPING DEVICE Filed April 25, 1949 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 D.W.-MOLINS ETAL CIGARETTE TRAY DUMPING DEVICE Aug. 5, 1952 7 Sheets-Sheet4 Filed April 25, 1949 INVENfO/FJ K94 W V-Q' M g- 5, 1952 D. w. MOLINSETAL CIGARETTE TRAY DUMPING DEVICE Filed April 25, 1949 '7 Sheets-Sheet5 M w? W Aug. 5, 1952 D. w. MOLlNS EI'AL CIGARETTE TRAY DUMPING DEVICE.7 Sheets-Sheet '7 Filed April 25. 1949 Patented Aug. 5, 1.952

S PATENT TRAY DUMPING DEVICE Desmond Walter Molins and Felix FredericRuau, Deptford, London, England, assignors to Molins -Machine CompanyLimited, London, England,

' a British company Application April 25, 1949, Serial No. 89,502 InGreat Britain May 4, 1948 13 Claims. 1

This invention concerns improvements in or relating to the packing orhandling of cigarettes or'other rod shaped articles.

Apparatus constructed according to the invention-may be advantageouslyemployed in all suitable cases where cigarettes or other rod-likearticles are to' be transferred from atr'ay or the like into any kind ofhopper or receptacle. For

example, the apparatus may be used for transferring either cigarettelengths or lengths of filter rod material into a hopper or the like formanufacturing filtertip cigarettea'for example as described inBritishPatent Specification No. 430,742. 'In the following descriptionltheemphasis is on cigarettea'butit will be readily seen that .the

same general considerations apply to other rod shaped articles,thougha'filterrods or stubs, as they are often called, neednot behandledso delicately as cigarettes. "-"As the same general type .of tray may beused forvariousarticlesl the convenientterm .cigarette tray! will beused .throughout the specification.

Cigarettes issuing ,from :a cigarette. making .machine are frequentlycollected in trays, from whichtheyare subsequently transferred into thehopper of a cigarette packing. machine. In some cases, for example,theiciagrettes are'placed in thetrays; by hand, and may be'removed froma .tray by means oiJa flexible lifting-strip which .is arranged to liein the tray beneaththe cigarettes .and which has its ends free so thatthey canbe lgrasped, and the flexible-strip. thus drawn tight around thestack of cigarettesin the :tray, so that the cigarettes may thus belifted out of the tray.

.A traysuitable for use inthisway may consist of ga simple, Open-sidedmetal structure having a fiat bottom and-upright end walls, the width of.a

tray ,being approximately equal to the length of a cigarette. 1 lBritish Patent Specification No. 549,875 discloses, apparatus forautomatically collecting cigarettes in trays which are arranged to movebeneathand past a filling station at whichthey are automatically filledwith cigarettes. The

trays in that case are of special construction and so designed thattheir contents can be discharged without the use of lifting strips.

It is an object of the invention to provide means whereby simple andinexpensive trays,

which can if desired befilled automatically-with cigarettes, may beemployed in such a way that the cigarettes may be automaticallydischarged from the trays into the hopper of a packing machine, Withoutthe. use of lifting strips.

I According to the invention there is provided apparatus for dischargingthe contents of cigarette trays, comprising a charger adapted to receiveand accommodate a filled tray andpivotally mounted adjacent a cigarettehopper or. the. like, closure means adapted to close said chargerwhereby the filled tray is enclosed and secured within the charger,means to invert the charger by swinging it about its pivot from the trayreceiving or loading position to a discharging position above thehopper, said closure means including a removable part which supports themass of cigarettes in the charger when the latter is in the dischargingposition and which can be withdrawn to permit the cigarettes to fallinto the hopper.

The charger may comprise a fixed rear wall and the closure means maycomprise a pivoted front wall having means to support a removable topwall which constitutes the said removable part. The said top wall may beslidable in slotted members carried by the said pivoted front wall; 1

Alternatively the removable top wall may be pivotally mounted formovement over and away from-the top of the charger, that is, into andout of the closure position.

The charger-may be swung about its pivot by mechanism set into operationby a press button or like control, the arrangement being such that thecharger swings over to the discharging position and then returns to thetray receiving or loading position whereafter said mechanism 'ceases tooperate until the button ispressed again. a

The pivoted top wall may be held in its operative position by a latchwhich is trippedwhen the charger arrives at the discharging positionwhereupon the top wall moves on its pivots under the influence Of aspring. Means may be provided for preventing the operation of thecharger swinging mechanism to move the charger from the loading positionuntil the top wall is latched in position.

Thepivoted front Wall of the charger may be held in the closed positionby a latch and means may be provided for tripping the latchautomatically asthe charger returns to the loading position so that thefront wall can swing about its pivots to a wide-open position, forexample, a position where the wall is substantially horizontal. Catches'or the like may be provided on the pivoted front wall adapted to engagethe tray and to carry it with the wall when the latter swings open aboutits pivots. This provision fa- 3 cilitates rapid operation of thecharger when large quentities of cigarettes are being handled.

The pivoted top wall may comprise a series of flat springs or pressersadapted to move into contact with the cigarettes along the length of thecharger to prevent displacement or rolling of the cigarettes as thecharger swings over in its pivoting movement.

Apparatus according to the invention will now be described by way ofexample with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the general arrangement of theapparatus which, in this example, is used for supplying cigarettes tothe hopper of a cigarette packing machine.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of a charger and its operating devicesdrawn to a larger scale and partly broken away at one end to show hiddenparts.

Figure 3 is a sectional side elevation of Figure 2 on the line I'IIeIII,some parts being omitted.

Figure 4. is a sectionof part of Figure 2 onthe line IV-IV.

Figure 5 is a top view of part of "Figure 2.

Figure 6 is an enlarged view of part of Figure 1 showing. details ofaclutch device.

Figure 7 is asectional end elevation ofFigure 6, some partsbeingomitted.

Figure 8 is a perspective view. of a cigarette tray, shown broken. 1

Figure 9 is a view generallysimilar to Fi ure 3 but looking at Figure 2from the opposite .endand showing certain modifications.

Figure 10 shows a plan of a part shown in Figure 9, said partconstituting a tray-engaging catch.

Figure 11 is a small scale view of a device used for aligning cigarettesdischargedinto the hopper ofFigure 1.

The apparatus is designed for use withtraysof neath a filling station atwhich they are filledwith cigarettes issuing from a cigaretternakingmachine, the end walls are slotted or forked, as shown in Figure 8, toallow themto pass a downwardly extending guide which guides the;cigarettes into the trays. The width of the sletin an end wall is,ofcourse, less than. the ,length ofa cigarette. r t The control ofthechargermovernentslmaybe effected either electrically or mechanicallyand both methods are shown in the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings, when atray I, Figure 1, has been filledwith cigarettes, it. is placed in a charger, generally indicatedby thereference 2, which is designed to accommodate a tray and which isdisposed adjacent a hopper, generally indicated bythe reference 3, of acigarette packing machine;

The charger has a base 5 on which the tray 1 can rest, and a rear wall'5 fixed to the base so as to cover one side of the stack of cigarettesin the tray. A front wall 6 is pivoted at l'to the base so that it canbe swung up" to cover the other side of the stack of cigarettes andswung down, as explained more particularly later, to openthe charger forreceiving a filled tray. The pivoted I of cigarettes, as will be frontWall is preferably made of transparent ma terial so that the cigarettescan be seen. When the front wall is closed the ends of the cigarettesare all aligned, as the space between the front and rear walls issubstantially the length of a cigarette. The front wall 6 is held in theclosed position by fastening devices at each end of the charger, eachdevice comprising a hook shaped latch 8 which, under the influence of aspring 9, snaps over a corresponding shaped part Ii], fixed to a lugextending from the charger base t, when the wall 6 is swung on itspivots l to close it. The latches 8 are fixed on a pivoted rod l i andprovided with a long stirrup shaped lever or handle [2, shown broken inFigure 2, so that the fastening device may be unlatched with ease.

A framework, generally indicated by the reference l3, and ofsubstantially rectangular shape is pivoted on pivots 3! on the same axisas the front wall pivots I and is located in advance of said wall. Atits upper end the framework has an extension M which extends across thetop of the charger and the filled tray carried therein so as to closethe charger and prevent cigarettes from falling out when the charger isswungv over towards the hopper. The extension forms a slightly acute (e;g. interiorangle with the plane of the framework.

The charger isv fixed to a leverld which is integral with thebase 4 andpivoted at 16 so that thecharger can swing about the leverpivot.

Side guides H and I8, Figure 1, are provided at the mouth of the packingmachine hopper 3 and are arranged toextend 'outwardlyto allow thecharger to be swung intoinverted position between them.

The rectangular'framework leis held in the closed position, with itsextension 14 covering the top of the charger, by .a hook shaped latch l9whichis pivoted onthe rod: [1' to the: front Wall t and engages a rolleror pin 291cm the framework' [3. The latchisheldin engaging position by aspring 21. One end of. an armv 2 2 ofa bell crank lever 23 is pivotallyconnected .to the latch i9 at 22. For this purpose. the. latch I9 isprovided with apivoted plate 32 to which the spring is connected-andside p1ates 3'3..fixed to :the plate andconstituting a bracket provide abearing for the pivot 24: The :other arm 25 of the lever is pivoted at:its end to a horizontal bar 26. The pivot 21 of the bell-crank lever isconnected to the front wall 5 and a link '28- of the same length as-thesecond arm 25 of the bell-crank lever is also coupled to the-wall andthe bar 26. An end of= the bar provided with a roller 29 projects beyondthe right hand end of the charger and if this roller ispressed'endwise'the latchlS is raised to release the? framework. [3;Between the framework and the front wall there are provided bent leafsprings 33- which tendto swing the framework away from'the wall, andthus as soon as the latch l'9 is raised, the. framework swings'away fromthe wall. The extension ll of the framework, which constitutes aremovable part for supporting the cigarettes when the charger isinverted, has attached thereto a number of cigarette engaging leafsprings '18, see Figure 5, which extendfrom one end of the charger tothe other and provideanumber of pressing members which engage the upperrow explained in' more detail later.

Other details of the apparatus will be referred to in the followingdescription of its operation.

When a filled tray 1 is'pl'aced in the charger and the latter is closedby swinging up the pivoted front wall'B and the framework [3, thecigarettes withinthe charger are enclosed on all sides, and the'tray issecured against movement. When the charger is swung about thepivot l6and inverted over the hopper 3, it will be seen that the mass ofcigarettes which formerly rested on the bottom of the tray are nowsupported by the extension M of the'framework referred to above,which,.in the discharging position, forms the base of the charger.

The tray I is shown more clearly in Figure 8, and it will be seen thatat the top it has small lugs I9 which serve to space traysapart whenthey are supported on bars passing through the hooks,

.in order that trays may .be conveyed about a factory. The lugs at therear of the'tray when it is positioned in the charger are also utilisedto hold the tray in the charger when the latter is inverted and theextension [4 removed to allow the cigarettes to fall into the hopper 3.The lugs pass through holes or slots 83, Figure 2, in the rear wall 5 ofthe charger, and as the tray cannot fall out, except by a downwardmovement, which the'lugs prevent, the tray is securely held. The tray islocated lengthwise of the charger by guides 86, Figures 2 and 3, fixedto the front wall and which pass between the hooks of the tray.

In the arrangement shown in Figure 1, the charger is operated by aone-revolution clutch device which is shown in detail in Figures 6 and 7In Figure 1 a shaft 34, the m'ainshaft of the packing machine, iscoupled by the gear-train shown toa crank shaft 35 by means of a clutchdevice, generally indicated by the reference 35. As will be'seen fromFigure 7, a sprocket wheel 31, which is the last member of the aforesaidgear train, is bolted to a ratchet wheel 38. Coaxial with the sprocketwheel and ratchet wheel is a clutch body 39 in which is pivoted arocking pawl tooth 46 which has a cylindrical shank 4! which isjournalled ina hole in the clutch body. At one end of the shank is thepawl tooth 40 and at the other end is a stop lever 42. It will be seenthat if the pawl is moved in an anti-clockwise direction, Figure 6, itwill engage theratchet wheel 38 and as the latter is constantly runningin the direction of the arrow, Figure 6, the pawl and clutch body willbe rotated.

At the side of the frame 43 of the packing machine is a plunger 44slidable in a bush 45 fixed to the frame. When the plunger is pressed,as one presses an electric switch, the plunger presses against an arm 46of a bell-crank lever pivoted at 41. The other arm 48 of the bell cranklever is thereby moved out of the path of an abutment 49 on the pawlstop lever 42. The pawl 40, then swings anti-clockwise, under the actionof a spring 59, and the clutch body starts to rotate, and as it is fixedby a key 5| to the crank shaft 35 the latter is rotated and a crank arm52 fixed to the shaft drives a connecting rod' 53.

Referring now to Figure 2, where the shaft 35, arm 52 and rod 53 arealso shown but with the rod broken and the arm and shaft higher up thantheir true position, the upper end of the connecting rod is pivoted to atoothed quadrant 54 pivoted at 55 to the frame 43. The quadrant engageswith a gear wheel 56, fixed to the shaft which forms the pivot [6 of thelever i5, and thus as the crank shaft rotates, the charger is swung toand fro, that is from the position shown in Figure 1, which is the trayreceiving or loading position,to a discharging position over the hopper3 and back again. After the crank shaftstarts 6 to rotate, the arm 48will of course fall back to the position shown in Figure 6 as thepressure on the plunger 44 is relaxed, and when the clutch body has madeone revolution the arm 48 will strike the abutment 49 and disengage thetooth 40 from the ratchet wheel 38. A collar having a lug I0 is fixed tothe shaft 35 so that the lug forms a stop to locate the stop lever 42 inthe disengaged position.

device partly shown in Figures. 2 and 3 and also shown in Figures 6 and7. This device comprises a pivoted lever 51 which is engaged by an arm58, Figure 2, of a bell-crank lever pivoted on the charger at 81.. Theother arm 88 of the bell-crank lever is pressed upwards by a spring 89and is engaged by a lug fixed to the framework [3.

,When the framework is latched, the lever 51 presses against a pin 59fixed at one end of a double-armed lever 6!! pivoted to the frame 3 at6|. The other end of the lever 60 is pivoted at B2 to a sl'idable bar 63which is guided at its free end in a slotted block 64, also fixed to theframe 43. The bar 63 has a notch 65 in it of the same shape as a notchin the block 64 and when the two notches are aligned the arm 48 of thebell-crank lever can pass and the pivoting movement of the stop lever 42to allow the pawl 43 to engage can take place. A spring 36 returns thebar 63 tothe stop position when the pivoted lever 5'! is free of the arm58 on the charger, that is, when the framework l3 of the charger isunlatched.

As the loaded charger is a fairly heavy mass, provision isv made forbalancing it as far as possible about the axis of rotation It. For thispurpose an arm 51 fixed to the gear wheel 56 extends upwards, Figure 2,and to its end is attached a strong spring '58 whose other end (notshown) is anchored to the machine frame.

As the charger commences to swing upwards from the-position shown inFigure 2, the spring assists the gearing. In due course, after the arm61 has rotated through 90", the centre of gravity of the moving masspasses over the axis It and thereafter the spring tends to resist themovement. In this way the load on the gearing is kept fairly uniform anda smooth movement results. Moreover, as will be seen from Figure 2, thecrank is on a dead centre at each end of the movement, so that thecharger starts to move slowly and finishes its movement slowly. Furtherthe arrangement gives sufiicient time for the cigarettes to dischargeinto the hopper 3 as there is scarcely any return movement of thecharger for a considerable angle of crank movement.

As a further safeguard, in case the weight of the charger should dragthe crank and clutch body in advance of the driving ratchet wheel 38,ratchet stop device is fitted, also shown in Figures 6 and 7.

The stop device comprises a further pawl 69 pivoted to the clutch bodyat H and urged towards engagement with a ratchet wheel 12 by a spring'l3but, in the position shown in Figure 6, temporarily held out ofengagement by a cam face 74 on the arm 46 of the bell-crank lever.

As soon as the clutch body starts to move, the pawl 69 clears the camface 14 and-springs into engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel'12, long before there is any overrunm'ng load due to the weight of thecharger, and as the wheel 72 is fixed to the wheel 38 the pawl 69charger is inverted-over theh'opper.

7 locks-the. clutch bofdyto: the ratchet wheels so 'thEtjfOl/Blllll'l isimpossible. Theca'mxlfitrips the pawlrfid' just, before: the end:- of?the crank shaft revolutionqand theapaivlris thus held:out*of engagement:Withthe, ratchet wheel I2 s'o astoaavoid "clicking in. the intervalsbelwveen cranksshaft operation, r

' In order'to ensure that the.cliltchlboidys39acome pletes itsrevolution so as to; restore. the clutch parts. to' the positionshownin".Eigure';v flian'd. to secure efiectiverestorlation of: thepawl" tooth" 40 to: its completely disengaged: position .the: eclntchbody is? slightly. unbalanced by beingheavier at theiright hand; side ofFigure 6.. This fmay be done-zby a: counter weightfatxthat" side :or bydi'illto move.

In view of" the overhang of thefcharg er from its pivot,- two :devicesare provided to H counteract undue movement -'or "vibration duringoperation. O'iie is a 'bracket T5 'fiX'edto the machine frame to:stiff-en the charger while :lt is" being loaded andiforr'ning areactionsurface against which the shock of ioading'and-clos'ing by an operatormay be taken without stresson the pivotland other parts: The seconddevice is a' plate "Z'Bifixed to the free end of the charger'which runsinto a slot 'll', Figure '1, in the guide l7, when the The plate itchecks vibration due to the shock as the framework L3 snaps open aboutits. pivots under the pressure'of the springs-3E1, for-as the chargercomes into position over the hopper 3', the roller 29 on the end" of thebar 256 ispressed by a ca'm'face 8| on the guide i? to release the latchla and allow the'framework to spring open.

The extension I i; which constitutes'a removable part of the closuremeans cf' thecharger, supports the cigarettes when the charger is.inverted until the framework 13 springs open, when the extension isremoved from. beneath. the cigarett'es. quickly as theframework' swingson its pivots under the influence of the bent l'eafsprings- 3.9.

This removal is effected extremely Of course, whentheextension iswithdrawniit carries with it the cigarette: engaging leaf springsdifference in time hetwe'en the falling of therear and front ends of thecigarettes,

It will be observed, however, that even with this arrangementit isessential that-the: movement of the extension to uncover, the cigarettesshould be as rapidaapossible;otherwisethe ends of the cigarettesat-ithe' rearwall inf the charger will begin to fall before thefrontrends' are free to do so, and 'thism-ay'. cause thehci'garettestofall askew.

- Therefore the leaf springs 3fi'used are" very strong and. theframework swings open very smartly. To reduce; theshock as the frameworkfinishes its openingmovemenaithe open position of the frameworkv isdetermined by pins."82' on the framework which move in slotted quadrantsor links 83 pivotedto the front Wall, andithe-pins comprisev springwashers or the like 84' whereby there iiszsufiicient friction betweenthe pins and links'to'slow down. the movement towardsits end when theforce of theleaf springs is nearly exhausted.

The cigaretteengaging leaf springs la'function. in the following.manner. The cigarette trays are filled evenly and to a uniform height byapparatus attached to a. cigarette makingmachinejbut in. the subsequenthandling, before the trays reach the charger, the level is likely to bedisturbed. The operator roughly smoothes the top or the. cigarettes, butitis imperative that during the charger movement the cigarettes shouldbe .preventedas far as possible from moving about in the tray. With thecigarettefengaging leaf springs mentioned, undue movement is preventedbecause/each springgmoves down into contact withthe cigarettesbeneath itas the framework closes, and the springs slip over afixed angle 85,Figure 3, on. the front wall until-they are free of the bar and free toextend' to -their normal shape as far as the cigarettes will-permit.Thus each inch or two oflength of theltray" is covered by an independentspring and all the cigarettes are restrained against movement.

Owing to the provision of the side guides I! and 18 at the mouthofthe'hopper, between which the inverted charger isdisposed when inthedischarging position, it ispossible to start-returning the charger toitsoriginal'positionas soon as the extension of the frameworkis-withdrawn, since any cigarettes which may'leave the charger after thelatter has startedto move upwardly and away will be guided intothehopper by the said guides. Thus the crank cl-rive mechanism'previouslydescribed is-quite satisfactory-forthe purpose;

As the cigarettes in the charger-are aligned with the rear wall'5,andsome clearance is necessary-between the exterior face of this: walland the neighboring face of' the hopper back wall when the charger is inthe discharging position, it is necessary to shiftthe'cigarettes'backwards into contact with the said ho-pper'wallafterthe charger has left the hopper. The. necessary movement may be notedfrom Figure'3as the face of the hopper wall is coincident with the faceof the frame part'mark'ed 531 To facilitate said movement of thecigarettes the front Wall of the hopper 3 may be-constructed as shown inFigure 11. The lower part Di-of the front wall is fixed and to it thereis pivoted at I02 a hinged wall H13. This normallyv stays'in thechain-line position because of the weight of a handle I04, but whenthe'charger has emptied a mass of cigarettes, represented by achain-line rectangle me, the pivoted wallis swung inward by the handleto the full-line position to move said cigarettes back into contact withthe rear wall 166 of the hopper. I

The charger returns to the receiving position withthe framework l3 inthe open positiomand as the charger comes to rest, the: pivoted frontwall .6 maybe. opened. by manipu lation'of the handle 12, the empty trayremoved .and -afull onepl'acedxin the charger, and the operation can berepeated as soonas the front wall and-frame- ,9. work I3 are latched,when it is possible to press the plunger 44 to engage the clutch. H

The manual operation of the stirrup I2, that is a mere pressing downonthe bar, disengages the latches 8, and as the centre of gravity of thefront wall structure is to theright .(Figure 3) of "the 7 in Figure 9,whichshows only the essentials-of the charger for the purpose ofunderstanding-the operation of saiddevice. The charger is shown in fulllines in the condition it is'in. when just about to move upwards, thoughthe tray. is omitted. The left hand latch 8 is shorterithan in theprevious case and is pinned to the rod II. The right hand latch is alsopinned to therod and comprises a lever H5 having a fixed pin I I6 at itsfree end.- A striking bar or cam plate H1 is pivoted at H8 to a bracketH9 fixed to the machine frame; A spring I29 holds the cam plate againsta stop surface I2I. The cam plate is so shaped and positioned that asthe charger returns to its initial position the pin H6 contacts with theupper face of the bar II! and the latch lever H5 is caused to rotate onits axis; that is the rod H is rotated and both latches 8 aredisengaged. I The front wall structure therefore turns on its pivots andfalls down to a horizontal position as shown in chain-lines. Thestructure is rather heavy,- and to avoid shock 'or injury to the parts ashock-absorbing device is provided to receive the structure. Thisdevice-consists of a plate I22 pivoted at I23 and provided with rollersI24 each of whichruns up the side members I30 of the framework I 3 asthe charger front wall turns on its pivots. The framework I3 is ofcourse open as the charger returns to its initial position, and therollers I24 are so disposed that the side members of the framework donot foul them but move smoothly into contact, though the rollers couldbe lower down than is shown without materially affecting theshock-absorbing action.

Beneath the plate is a dashpot device I25 only part of which is shown. aThis checks the falling movement of the structure and makes the movementgentle. plate I22 to the frame 43 and draws the plate I22 back to its upposition when the front wall is latched again. On the next movement ofthe charger to the discharging position the pin H6 turns the cam plateH'I about its pivot against the pressure of the spring I20.

To automatically remove an empty tray from the charger base, the guides86 previously described are modified as shown in Figures 9 and wherethey are numbered I86 and then form extractors. They comprise bentsprings I21 which, on the charger wall closing movement when the guidespass through the tray hooks, catch in a depression I28 in the traymember. Thus when the charger wall swings on its pivots and falls downto the horizontal as above described, the springs I2'I drag the tray Iwith them as shown in chain-line in Figure 9, but the tray is easilyremoved by pulling as the springs slide along the depressions I23.

Charger loading with these modifications is performed as follows. As thecharger returns to its loading position the framework I3 is A spring I26connects the already open and the front wall automatically opens asdescribed above and under control of the shock absorber falls until itis horizontal. The attendant can immediately put in a full tray .andthen remove the empty one with one hand while returning the front walland closing the framework I3 with the other. This device considerablyeases the work of the attendant whenlarge quantities of cigarettes arebeing handled by the apparatus.

Normally the output of a'packing machine is so great that thedischargeof a tray has to be'repeated'at veryshort intervals (e. g. 45seconds), but in some circumstances it might be desirable to providedetecting devices which set the charger mechanism into operation whenthe level of cigarettes in the hopper falls below a predetermined'levelso that the operator is free to attend to'something else after loadingthe charger and closing the wall and framework.

In an "alternative arrangement the charger is swung to and fro by anelectric motor 9|, Figure 2, which'is geared by a Worm 92 to a wormwheel93 on the crank shaft 35. At the right handside of the apparatus, Figure2, there is located a switch 94' which is in series with the motorcircuit, and this switch is engaged by an abutment on the charger frameso as to switch off the motor as the charger returns to the receivingposition. A further switch 95 in parallel with the first switch isengaged by one arm-96 of a bell crank lever pivoted at 91 to thecharger.The other arm 98 of the bell crank lever is pressed by aspring 99 andengaged by a lug- I00 fixed to the framework I3. When the framework islatched, the switch is closed and the motor can start when a pressbutton (not shown) is pressed. The control is thus similar to thatemployed with the one revolution clutch previously described.

In a simpler construction the removable top wall is arrangeddifferently. Fixed to the top of the pivoted side wall of the chargerare two slotted members, one at each end, which when the side 'wall isswung up lie horizontally across the top of the charger and are arrangedto rest upon .the outwardly projecting abutments on the end walls of thetray in the charger. when the pivoted side wall is swung up as aforesaidand secured, the tray is secured between the base of the charger and thetwo slotted members and is thus held against movement. The top of thecharger is closed by means of a removable part which consists of aslidable plate whose ends fit into the slots of the slotted members andwhich is thus held in position but can be withdrawn by slidinglengthwise of the charger. The charger is pivoted to the lever I5instead of being integral therewith and sprung so that it can assume thecorrect position over the hopper for discharge of the cigarettes. Itdoes not appear to be necessary to illustrate this simpler construction,as that fully described herein is very eflicient and quicker inoperation than the simple construction referred to.

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

1. Apparatus for discharging the contents of cigarette trays, comprisinga charger adapted to receive and accommodate a filled tray and pivotallymounted adjacent a cigarette hopper or the like, closure means adaptedto close said charger whereby the filled tray is enclosed and securedwithin the charger, means to invert the charger Thus by swinging itabout its :pivot from the. tray receiving 'or loading positionto"axdischarging position above the hopper, said closure means in-veluding. a removable part which supports the mass of cigarettes in thecharger when the latter is in the dischargingpositionfiandiwhich canbewithdrawn to permit the cigarettesitotfa'll into the hopper.

2. Apparatus asclaimedin claim .lzincluding mechanism for swinging thechargerabout fits pivot, and manually operable'control means .forinitiating operation of'said niechanism'to'swing' the charger from theloading to the discharging position andba'c'k to the loading position'onieac'h operationiof'said control means.

3. Apparatusas claimedin claim 2' comprising means for preventing the.operationot the charger. swinging mechanism to move: the charger fromthe loadingipositioniuntil the top wall is in'position;

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein thecharger comprises a fixedfrear'wall .andfthe closure means comprises a pivoted iront walliandmeans for supportingaremovable to'p' walliconstitutin said're'movabl'epart.

'5. Apparatus as claimed in claim a wherein'the pivoted 'front Wallis'held in the closed position bya latch and means is iprovided iorautomatically tripping the 'lat'ch as 'thech'arger returns to theloading position so that the front wall'can swing open, for exampleby-gravity.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim i-coinprisin'g catches on the pivotediron't wall adapted to engage the trayand to carry'it with the wall whenthe latter swings open on return to theloading position. I I v '7.Apparatus: as claimed in claim 4 wherein the top Wallis provided with aseri'es-of flat springs or pressers adapted to move into contact withthe cigarettes along the length of th'e'charger for the purposedescribed, 7

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim l including meanspivotally'mounting'the removable top wall for-movement over and awayfrom the top of the charger, that is, into and out of the closureposition.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claiin'B wherein the pivoted top wall is heldin the closure'position by a latch which is tripped when the chargerarrives at the discharging position whereupon the I2 topv wall moves on.its ipivots underithe influence ofaspring. 2

10. Apparatus :i or .rdischarging the contents. of cigarette' trays,comprising :a zchargertadapted ato receive; and accommodate 'afilled'tray and'pivotally mounted adjacent a-cigarette hopper i-or." thelike, -closure means adapted to zclose'sai'dcharger whereby. the..fi11ed.tr;ay is nclosed andrisecured within the "charger; -means toinvert the charger by swinging it about "its pivot -.from the:trayCreceivin'gi or loading position to-Jtafl'cigarette 'cdisa charging-positioniabove:the :h'opper', s'aid closure meanslincludingrai-movablepart which supports the mass. :oicigarettes tin? the charger when lthelatter';is;the zdischarging':position land which canuthen hewithdravvn)to 'p'ermi't th cigarettes toiialliiromthenharger, means operable toreturn the charger to. :theltra-y receiving position; andguidesiproivided atithe mouthof the hopper be' tweenwhich the charger isswung into the :discharging i position and arranged so as to. directcigarettes-into the hopper from th'e chargeras the latter is moving:away from the hopper.

v11.:."Apparat'us asclaimed in claim '10',w hereinsaid iguidfes compriseside guides at the mouth or thethop.per,.:iandIa rear guide constitutingan'ex- I tension :o'f'the irear Wall of th'e hopper, and mayable.lrn'eans atitheifront oi the hopper to position and align cigarettes.agains't said rear guide.

. 12; Apparatus for-discharging the contents of cigarette .trays,-comprising: a' charger adapted to receive and accommodate a filled trayand pivotally." mounted. adjacent i a cigarette hopperor thelike',-:clfosurelmeans;a'daptedito close saidcharger whereby: the Tfilled tray is enclosed: and secured within -rthe' charger; and"means toinvert the charger by swinging fit about its pivotfromthe tray'receivingoroloadihg position to a cigarette dischargingrposition.ab ovelthehopper.

13. Apparatus asgclaimed 'infclai m 12 wherein thesaidxmeans operable.to return the charger to "the tray receiving rp'ositio'n are arrangedto operate"automatically'to;returnithe .charger after the :me'ansvtoswing the charger ab'out its pivot from-the tray receiving position hasbrought tlie chargertolthe dischargingposition.

' DESMOND'WA'LTERiMOLINSJ FELIX FREDERICRUAU.

No references" cited.

